


In his arms

by LegallyBlondeAndDeadInside



Category: Frankenstein & Related Fandoms, Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Genre: Does anyone care about this fandom, Fluff, Frankenstein - Freeform, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Queerplatonic Relationships, The dynamic between Victor and Henry is so underrated, Third Person Limited, This has probably been done before, Tooth Rotting Fluff, Victor being Lowkey soft, Victorian style sort of, third person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24844486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegallyBlondeAndDeadInside/pseuds/LegallyBlondeAndDeadInside
Summary: Victor started having nightmares and Henry tried to comfort him. That’s literally it.
Relationships: Henry Clerval & Victor Frankenstein, Henry Clerval/Victor Frankenstein
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	In his arms

**Author's Note:**

> I needed a break from some bigger projects and wanted to try my hand at some good old fashioned fluff. Hopefully it’s as fun to read as it was to write.

Full moon light filtered through the translucent curtains, leaving the shadow of the window frame upon the dark wood floors. The whole area, as was commonplace of a makeshift lab, appeared remote and long forgotten, like an abandoned library eroded in the middle of the Sahara. The home’s residents had done their best to clean, but the crates of hastily written notes and half-sketched diagrams still gave the parlor an appearance of disrepair and overcrowdedness.   
Henry Clerval sat by the light of a gas lantern, drinking tea with too much sugar and making rough sketches with a pencil onto the backside of a letter; one he had sent his dearest friend months ago that never earned a reply. He was surely to sleep soon but his subconscious stopped any attempt towards simply a second of sweet slumber.   
He knew that it was thoughts of his friend that kept him awake these long nights; rather the fear that something horrid would happen to him. It was the same way before he had arrived in Ingolstadt, and yet, even with Victor a room away, the man could not alay his concern.  
When a sudden gasp was heard, Henry was quick to react.  
“Dear, Victor?” He rushed into the room.  
“I apologize, did I wake you?” Victor sat up in his bed.  
Henry could not see much in the dark room, but Victor’s face was stricken with horror.   
“No, not at all, friend” Henry assured, “are you alright?”  
“Yes, it was nothing,” Victor spoke with casual flair, but his friend knew better.   
Henry sat on the edge of the bed.  
“You can tell me if you are suffering,”  
“It is a good thing I am not then,”   
“Victor, please,” he begged.  
“...Night terrors,” Frankenstein admitted through gritted teeth, “...purely incidental of my illness, nothing more”   
“Night terrors! Why did you refrain from telling me?” Clerval frowned.  
“...They are my battle, not yours, dear friend,”  
”I will gladly fight your battles with you,”   
Victor remained silent for a long time.   
“You must sleep, it shall be daybreak any hour now,” he eventually replied.   
“Then I will sleep here with you until then” Henry crossed his arms.   
“You need not-“  
“I do. If you cannot sleep nor can I,”   
Victor sighed, but Henry noticed the smile on the ends of his lips. Just as Henry stood to find a comfortable enough chair, Frankenstein spoke with subdued joy:  
“We may as well share the bed then,”   
For some reason beyond his control, Clerval felt his face turn warm. He took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. Henry turned around and nodded. Frankenstein had moved a few inches left to give Clerval space to lay on the twin-sized mattress.  
Having noticed the nervous shivering of his friend, Henry let his arm fall on his friend’s back.   
“What are you doing?” Victor asked.  
“You seemed cold.” Henry justified.  
The reasoning appeared enough for Victor to excuse the action, so he closed his eyes without another word, soon enough moving his body a few inches closer to Henry.  
“My position was uncomfortable,” he said.   
The night continued and more such instances occurred, both parties searching for a reason to pull the other closer until morning came.   
Henry awoke to the most beautiful sight his eyes could behold. His dear friend was sleeping soundly on his chest. The morning light shone above his face, giving Frankenstein’s ghastly pale skin a halo-like disposition. The light bounced from his sharp features, almost as if it was radiating from the man himself.   
Clerval became overwhelmed with emotion. Seeing Victor without fear in his expression truly allowed Henry to realize how much he admired his friend. Not just in appearance, but in heart. On some sort of primal instinct, Henry let his fingers graze Victor’s obsidian dark hair. Such a small action, and yet, he felt so enamored. The thoughts it brought about were certainly forbidden, but as silk-smooth hairs crossed the pads of his fingers, he decided that forbidden may be acceptable on occasion.   
“Cler..val ?” Victor groaned and opened his heavy eyelids.   
“You seem to be uh healthier. Yes, healthier,” Henry scrambled for an explanation and threw his hands up in the air.   
Victor laughed for the first time in weeks, well, more so giggled. It was a breathy sound, riddled with inexperience and pain, but it sounded happy and that was enough. He turned his head to look at Henry.   
“I missed you, Cle-Henry,” Victor smiled.   
Henry set aside his convictions and smiled. All the suffering, all the worry this man had had subjected him to. The months of agony, spending every waking moment consoling Elizabeth while trying not to cry himself, and every sleeping one dreaming of holding this horribly amazing friend in his arms. Without Victor, his life felt like a waking nightmare, a terror that did not end when he awoke. His only solace came from the hope, that someday, the light would return to him.   
He felt the tears building up in the back of his eyes.   
“I missed you too,”


End file.
